


i'll never say that i'll never love (but i don't say a lot of things)

by Eorlingas



Series: she's so fierce and full of that fire || the lara au [4]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Lara AU, Prequel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-22
Updated: 2016-01-22
Packaged: 2018-05-15 13:27:55
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,008
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5786878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eorlingas/pseuds/Eorlingas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thomas Ward and Kara Palamas meet for the first time. It goes about as well as can be expected.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>a Lara AU prequel</p>
            </blockquote>





	i'll never say that i'll never love (but i don't say a lot of things)

 

_Graphic by the amazingly talented, incredibly generous[cardb0rdeaux ](cardb0rdeaux.tumblr.com)_

 

 

He's completely blindsided by her.

Literally.

Thomas blinks at the red brick his face is currently being pressed against, trying to catch his breath and his bearings. He's too familiar with the sensation of the barrel of a gun buried in his back to struggle against whomever has him against the alley wall.

"Who are you?" He recognizes the voice that hisses low in his ear as distinctly feminine.

"I asked you first," he rejoins as casually as he can given the circumstances.

The sharp pressure against his back increases. "No, you didn't."

"Didn't I?" He feigns confusion. "Huh."

They're interrupted by a soft groan from behind them. "Thomas..."

He's released in an instant. By the time he turns around, his former captor has returned the side of the man slumped against the opposite building.

Thomas's gaze settles on his sorry mess of an older brother. "You look horrible," he tells him.

Ward blinks at him wearily. "So do you."

Thomas turns to the woman with an apologetic gesture. "His manners could use some work."

"Must be genetic," she observes without looking at him.

Thomas does a double take. Clearly he's underestimated just how close this obviously dangerous woman is with his brother if she knows who he is. He almost asks just what, exactly, is the relationship between them, but what semblance remains of his better judgment tells him that this probably isn't the best time.

"Where did you find him?" he asks.

She looks up now, meeting his gaze evenly. "Where do you think?"

Thomas lets out a long breath, cursing darkly. He crosses the alley in two long strides and gets right in his brother's face. Ward, to his own credit and the frustration of Thomas, doesn't even flinch. Thomas, however, is aware of the subtle shift in the posture of the woman to his left. Good. He might need someone to stop him from finishing the job someone else started.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Thomas demands, his voice low in his fury. "Do you really want to die _this_ badly?"

Ward doesn't answer.

Thomas takes a step back, dragging both hands through his hair. " _Damn it_ , Ward. There's more than just you at stake here."

This gets his attention. "What do you mean?"

_Shit_. Thomas swallows his response and instead turns to his brother's companion, who's watching him carefully. He notices for the first time just how striking her eyes are - how striking all of her is, really. His brother always did have a penchant for surrounding himself with beautiful women.

He clears these thoughts with a shake of his head. "We've got to move him," he tells her.

She nods in agreement. "There's a safe house nearby. I was taking him there, but it's been slow-going." She narrows her eyes at Thomas. "Didn't help that we've had the world's most obvious tail at our heels."

Thomas scowls, affronted. "You're lucky it was just me," he snaps.

She casts a critical eye over him that had surely made lesser men squirm. "Guess so," she says finally. There's probably an insult in there somewhere, but she relaxes her stance ever so slightly. Thomas decides to take his chances.

He extends a hand. "Thomas."

She hesitates for the barest of instants before taking it, a brisk, all-business handshake. "I know."

He waits for her to offer her name in return. She doesn't.

Ward speaks now, eyes closed. "Are you two done yet?"

"Not that you have _any_ room to complain, but yes, you absolute asshole, we are," the woman retorts sharply, giving Ward a scathing glance.

Thomas grins, delighted not to be the sole target of her ire. "I think I like her," he infoms his brother.

She rolls her eyes, but the corners of her mouth tug upwards briefly, seemingly in spite of herself. "Great," she mutters. "Now make yourself useful and help me move your ungrateful idiot of a brother."

Thomas complies, moving to support his brother's weight on one side as she lifts his other arm over her shoulders.

"I've got a car waiting," he tells her quietly.

She grunts in response, but it's not exactly disapproving, so Thomas is going to count this interaction as a success.

They make their way in silence to the vehicle. Once they've secured Ward in the backseat, Thomas tosses the keys over to her. She catches them easily but gives him a startled look. Thomas meets her gaze evenly, hoping his point is taken.

If they hope to help Ward in any real, meaningful way, they're going to have to trust one another to some degree.

She stares at him for a moment before nodding briskly and getting in the car on the driver's side. Thomas follows suit on the other.

They drive in silence for a time before she speaks. Her voice is so quiet that at first Thomas isn't sure if she's addressing him.

"Kara."

Thomas blinks, absorbing this information. "Nice to meet you, Kara," he responds, matching her low volume.

There's a pause. Then a gravelly voice from the backseat asks, "Kara, is there whiskey at this safe house?"

Thomas and Kara answer as one. "Shut up, Ward."

 

-

 

Thomas doesn't like to go so long without seeing them, but sometimes it just can't be helped. And maybe, just maybe, he prays, thinking of the weeks spent with his brother, this absence will have been worth it.

"You're late," she says when she opens her apartment door, baby on her hip. But the smile on her face tells him that they've missed him just as much as he's missed them.

He shakes his head with a matching grin. "A wizard is never late.." he intones.

"Ugh. Nerd. Well, I guess you should come in."

He had initially been surprised by the natural ease that exists between himself and Skye. It had felt wrong somehow, that in the face of everything that had gone down over the last several years, that they could laugh and converse like this with the implicit knowledge that there was no one each of them trusted more in the world than the other.

By the time they get settled on the sofa, Skye is practically bubbling over with conversation. Thomas is content to listen quietly, shaking Lara's favorite toy dog, the soft one with the rattle for a tail, for the baby he bounces on his knee. He knows how Skye can go a little crazy after not seeing any other adults for a while and he guesses that this has been one of these times.

Even so, he's startled when she brings SHIELD into the conversation, as it's a topic she usually shies away from, even with him.

It turns out that Skye's been keeping tabs on the organization that she had formerly considered to be her home. Thomas tries not to let his disapproval show, instead focusing his energies into making Lara laugh. Apparently he is more successful at the latter than the former, because Skye pauses before ordering flatly, "Say it."

"I don't think I need to," he answers, widening his eyes in a silly expression that delights his small niece.

"I'm fine, Thomas. I've moved on."

"Then move on." He looks up now, wiping the lingering smile at Lara from his face to emphasize the seriousness of his point. He softens his voice at the taut look on Skye's face. "Look, I know how hard it is to leave everything you've known without looking back. But sooner or later you have to. Otherwise..." he trails off, shaking his head.

"You turn into a pillar of salt," Skye mutters.

Thomas squints. "Come again?"

Skye waves vaguely. "The nuns liked that story a lot. Guess it stuck with me for some reason."

"Okay." Thomas disregards the obscure remark with a shake of his head and plows on. "Look, if nothing else, won't they be able to trace your hacks and recognize your signature?"

Skye looks offended. "One, I cannot believe how severely you are underestimating my skills. Two, who said anything about hacking anyway?"

"You _know_ they have to be looking for you."

"Looking isn't finding. Just ask Kara."

Thomas, to his credit, does not drop Lara at this unexpected name drop. But he comes pretty close. He manages to disguise the brief loosening of his grip on the child as a game as he continues to bounce her.

Skye doesn't appear to have noticed as she continues, growing heated. "One of their best ever, loyal to a _fault_ and they just - " she shakes her head. "SHIELD failed a lot of people, and I mean a lot, but that's probably one of the worst cases. God, no wonder she left."

She goes on, railing bitterly against the corruption and downfall of the organization, but Thomas doesn't hear her. His mind is reeling as the pieces start to fall into place. Her skills, her connection to his brother - hell, the little he gathers from what Skye has said would go a long way in explaining her obvious trust issues. This _has_ to be the same Kara.

 

-

 

If Skye couldn't read Thomas Ward like a damn book, she might not have guessed.

Actually, that's probably not quite true. She might be a world class spy, but honestly it would have taken someone truly obtuse to miss it.

"What's up?" she asks pointedly.

"Hmm?"

"Kara," she clarifies, watching him closely. "Your face did a weird thing the first time I said her name and it did it again just now."

A wide range of expressions flickers over his features before he settles at last on faux offense. " _Excuse you_ , my face is perfect."

"Thomas."

"What?" His wide-eyed innocence is just a little _too_ convincing.

Skye blinks, then turns to the six-month-old in his arms. "Your uncle is a terrible liar," she tells Lara solemnly.

Thomas scowls and turns his niece to face over his shoulder, away from Skye. He mutters something into the baby's hair that Skye doesn't quite catch, but she knows it starts with "your mother".

She levels him with a glare, raising one eyebrow dangerously. "What was that now?"

Thomas gives her a cursory glance. "This is a private conversation, Skye."

"Private conversation, my - " Skye stops herself, casting a flustered glance at Lara.

Thomas crows loudly, but his glee is short-lived as Lara, startled at the noise, screws up her perfect little face in an expression distinctly reminiscent of a tomato that's sat on the counter two days too long and begins to wail.

Skye takes the baby from the visibly panicked Thomas, soothing her daughter with remarkable ease. She presses a kiss to the now-quiet Lara's temple before giving him a smug look. "You can't turn my child against me."

Thomas shakes his head, openly impressed. "Wouldn't dream of it," he vows, and means it.

Skye's smile fades as she returns to the matter at hand. "What are you not telling me, Thomas?"  
  
He sighs, staring absently at Lara. "I don't know yet," he admits.

Skye bites back the question on the tip of her tongue. "Well," she begins, turning her attention to her daughter, who is now resting her head on Skye's shoulder drowsily. "You'll tell me when you do."

Her tone is mild but the message is clear.

Thomas nods, wishing for the millionth time that he wasn't bound by so many secrets.

Skye grimaces suddenly.

"What?" he questions.

"Lara pooped."

"Oh."

Skye's eyes light up in that way that Thomas has learned means no good for him. "Hey, do you want to be Lara's favorite uncle?"

Thomas smirks, comfortable. "I'm already her favorite. I'm her _only_ uncle."

Skye shrugs. "Okay. I mean, Tony would beg to differ, but..."

Thomas is up in an instant, taking Lara from her. Skye tries not to laugh as Thomas ducks into the nursery, muttering about that _smug son of a gun Stark_ and _where does your mommy keep the diapers?_

Skye shakes her head fondly. "It's so _easy_."

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Beware of the author known as serenitysea. Her ability to rope other people into expanding her kingdom of darkness is honestly terrifying.


End file.
